South Africa Condemned By Apartheid

August 15, 1988|By Tai Elemide.

CHICAGO — It`s amazing how some tourists to Africa, like Edward M. Korleski, quickly and naively become convinced of their expertise on the continent`s socio-politics and economics, and more recently on the sanctions on the reprobate apartheid regime of South Afica.

Mr. Korleski`s recent letter, ``South African sanctions would backfire,`` expounds no new logic but a rehash of the Thatcher/Reagan worn-out lines on sanctions against the South African administration. If Korleski had paused from his junkets in and around Africa he would have conceded the obsolescence of the Reagan/Thatcher doctrine on South Africa and perhaps witnessed the crack in the oppressor`s machinery towards the inevitable dismantlement of apartheid in South Africa, thanks to the divestitures and pull-outs of several conscientious corporations and the limited sanctions already in place.

Korleski was quick to quote the views of Chief Buthelezi, but could not relate to opposite views like those of Bishop Tutu, Rev. Alan Bosah, several other African presidents, civil rights activists and several well-seasoned politicians and intellectuals in this country who are fighting a multifaceted war against apartheid in South Africa and other places.

No amount of disguise could hide Korleski`s hypocritical crocodile tears on apartheid. The racist insinuations of ``a bloodbath that would be triggered by any alternative`` to the current callous and terrorist South African government displays bigotry and a lack of respect for a people`s ability to govern itself.

Those of us who believe fervently in true democracy are proudly vindicated by the positive historical strides of Zimbabwe and other black-ruled African nations, despite all the present artificial predicaments imposed on those nations by neo-colonialist propaganda.

Calling South Africa a terrorist state is anathema to Korleski because the Botha regime is a U.S. ally. One wonders what other names there are for murderers of innocent people, for a regime that invades its neighboring states without provocation, and for a government that is infamous for maintaining the most sophisticated machinery for dehumanizing and oppressing another people almost to the point of annihilation.

As long as apartheid is maintained by Botha`s regime and sustained by Western powers, South Africa stands condemned. If apartheid supporters feel judged by history, they cannot be innocent but found culpable for the atrocities of their stooges.